recursion

While we were in Paris, we visited some of the smaller museums and sites that don’t have the huge lines of the Louvre or the Catacombs. None of them had the same overwhelming amount of stuff as the bigger museums but they were all amazing in their own way. Here’s some highlights.

Musée de la Music is about the history of music worldwide. It has some great instruments, including the octobass which is so large it was difficult to get a good photo of.

English horns don’t look like they used to. I think they should bring this style back.

Not exactly museums, but Chartres Cathedral and Château de Fontainebleau are both really cool.

Chartres is one of the only cathedrals in Europe with most of its original glass intact. And since it’s not in Paris, you’ll actually have time to look at and enjoy the glass, unlike Notre Dame.

Fontainebleau is another royal palace, less visited than Versailles but nearly as impressive. Napoleon made it his palace and his throne room is preserved there (it is the only one in France with all its original furniture).

Invalides has Napoleon’s tomb and is one of the prime tourist stops, so isn’t exactly unvisited. But the Musée de l’Armée has a fascinating collection of weapons from the neolithic to World War II and was very uncrowded when we visited.

I would steer clear of this guy.

Japanese propaganda, not something you see every day. It says something like “Roosevelt the agressor.”

Finally, Musée national du Moyen Âge (also known as the Cluny Museum) has an amazing collection of art from the middle ages. While we were there, the museum also had an exhibition on the symbolism of the sword that was just fascinating (and you could heft a sword for yourself).

You can get up close and personal with some amazing stained glass.

The museum’s prized work is The Lady and the Unicorn, a six piece tapestry series that is just breathtaking. It was one of my favorite pieces I saw anywhere. Photos don’t do it justice.